By Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty and Zack Meisel
CLEVELAND — It was a moment 15 years in the making, a deep drive that cut through the October sky, climbing high and far and landing in the World Series. The Yankees acquired Juan Soto last winter to return them to the stage they once owned. On Saturday in Cleveland, he delivered on that dream.
When it was all over, and the final out had found Soto in right field, he squeezed it and romped joyously to mob closer Luke Weaver on the infield grass. The Yankees are American League Champions for the first time since 2009, eliminating the Guardians in five games with a 5-2 victory in 10 innings. Soto’s three-run homer off Hunter Gaddis was the difference.
Soto connected with two on and two out in the top of the 10th, fouling off four pitches before Gaddis finally fired a fastball in the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Soto launched it 402 feet, just to the right of straightaway center, then stopped on his trot between home and first, flexing and roaring in front of the Yankees’ dugout.
Soto probably should not have hit at all. With one out and a runner on first, Alex Verdugo rolled a grounder to second baseman Andres Gimenez, who flipped to shortstop Bryan Rocchio for a force out. But the ball deflected off Rocchio’s glove, and instead of ending the inning by striking out the next hitter, Gaddis had to face Soto.
Soto’s homer was the second by the Yankees in Game 5, after a two-run shot by series MVP Giancarlo Stanton off Tanner Bibee that tied the game in the sixth inning.
Bibee gave the Guardians their deepest start of the postseason, carrying a shutout through 5 ⅔ innings. But with one on and two out in the sixth, Stanton unloaded on a 3-2 slider — the only pitch in the strike zone during the at-bat — and powered it 446 feet into the left field seats.
It was Stanton’s fourth hit of the series, all home runs, and it made the game another clash of bullpens, with Bibee leaving and the Yankees already into their bullpen after 4 ⅔ innings from Carlos Rodon.
After shaky relief work the last two games, both teams got stingy performances on Saturday, including from their closers. Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase, who blew the save in Game 3 and lost Game 4, retired Aaron Judge and Stanton as part of a scoreless ninth, while the Yankees’ Luke Weaver tamed the bottom of the Guardians’ order in his half of the inning.
Weaver — who gave up David Fry’s homer that ended Game 3 but sat for Game 4 — returned for the 10th and set down the top of the Guardians’ order, working around a single and getting Lane Thomas on the fly to Soto to clinch the pennant.
May we once again re-introduce, The Generational, Juan Soto. pic.twitter.com/6R5fWpEg6I
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 20, 2024
“We had our ups, we had our downs,” general partner Hal Steinbrenner said on the TBS broadcast after holding aloft the AL championship trophy on the field. “But we never had our doubts.”
Redemption for Emmanuel Clase
October has been an unrelenting nightmare for Cleveland’s closer, but his manager continues to voice confidence in the guy who recorded a 0.61 ERA during the regular season. And it’s not just press conference lip service; Stephen Vogt keeps sending Clase to the mound in critical situations. On Saturday, Clase rewarded Vogt with a scoreless ninth.
The Yankees conquered Clase the previous two nights, but he rebounded in Game 5 against the same foes who humbled him earlier in the series. Judge and Stanton clobbered home runs against Clase in the eighth inning on Thursday — before a frenzied Cleveland comeback converted his blown save into a footnote — and Clase jogged to the mound on Saturday to face them again. He got Judge to fly out to right field on a 100.4-mph cutter and he struck out Stanton on a 100.6-mph cutter up in the zone in a classic bout of power versus power. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to right, Clase induced a harmless grounder from Oswaldo Cabrera to end the inning and preserve the tie.
Stanton’s prolific power display continues
For the third straight night, Stanton played hero for the Yankees, this time blasting a two-run shot in the sixth inning to tie the game at 2-2.
It scored Torres, who had started the inning with a single. It came after Juan Soto’s single and Aaron Judge’s easy 6-4-3 double play that moved Torres to third base.
Stanton ripped a full-count slider — the only pitch Tanner Bibee left over the plate the whole at-bat. It went 446 feet and traveled 117.5 mph — an absolute bomb over the wall in left-center field.
GIANCARLO STANTON AGAIN! TIE GAME! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/tX2VqXuqVL
— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2024
For Stanton, it was his third home run in as many nights and it was his fourth of the postseason. The blast moved him ahead of Judge and Babe Ruth on the Yankees’ career postseason home run leaders. Stanton’s 16 playoff homers in pinstripes places him at fourth all-time, behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “So, there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world. But he’s just incredibly disciplined, his approach, his process (and) how he studies guys.”
His home run Friday gave the Yankees a four-run lead in an 8-6 win. On Thursday, he went back-to-back with Judge off closer Emmanuel Clase to give the Yankees a one-run lead in the eighth inning of an eventual loss 7-5 loss.
Bibee delivers on short rest, but there’s one pitch he’d like back
On short rest and tasked with protecting a beleaguered bullpen, Bibee submitted the longest outing by a Cleveland starter this month. But it’s his final pitch that gave the Yankees life. He convinced Stanton to wave at a couple pitches out of the zone to start the battle, but Stanton worked the count full and then Bibee left a 3-2 slider over the heart of the plate, where Stanton can convert any offering into a dented souvenir. Catcher Bo Naylor had set up far off the plate. It wound up being the only pitch that traveled through the strike zone during the at-bat. Bibee tossed Stanton three sliders, two changeups and a curveball.
Other than that mistake, Bibee delivered precisely what the Guardians needed. He pounded the strike zone, which kept his pitch count low, a tall order against a patient, veteran-laden lineup that led the league in walks. He needed only 61 pitches to cruise through five scoreless innings before a pair of singles to begin the sixth paved the way for Stanton’s blast. Bibee only threw 39 pitches in Game 2, so the decision to bring him back a day earlier than usual wasn’t particularly difficult for manager Stephen Vogt. Bibee said it was his first start on short rest since college, when he would start Friday night for Cal State Fullerton and then return to the mound in a relief role on Sunday.
Costly base-running blunder hurts Yankees early
The Yankees may have been able to break this game open in the first inning if third base coach Luis Rojas hadn’t sent Torres home on a double that Soto hit into the right-center field gap. The Guardians executed a perfect relay from right fielder Jhonkensy Noel to second baseman Andrés Giménez, who fired the ball home for the out.
The Yankees could have had runners on second and third with no outs and the heart of their order due up. Instead, they had one out and Soto on second. Judge was then hit in the ribcage by a pitch, Stanton struck out, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was hit by a pitch on his foot, and Anthony Rizzo lined out to end the inning.
A perfect play at the plate 🤩 #ALCS pic.twitter.com/RsLG5LDB75
— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2024
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee settled in from there, retiring 10 straight Yankees. It wasn’t until Anthony Volpe’s single in the fifth inning that the Yankees had another baserunner, which was quickly erased after Austin Wells grounded into a double play.
The Yankees made MLB’s sixth-most outs at home plate during the regular season, and no player made more outs at home than Torres. This out wasn’t on the second baseman, but it came in a big spot that could have buried the Guardians immediately.
(Top photo of Juan Soto: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
